New Approaches to Measure Quality of Life in Very Old Age

Expert Discussion

The population of people with a very high age is one of the fastest-growing population groups in Western societies. However, measuring their specific quality of life has proven a challenge for many studies aiming to find out about how old people live, what their standards and expectations of living are, and how the societal and economic framework must be adjusted or shaped according to their wishes and to allow their maximum well-being.

Researchers of the University of Cologne have developed a new model for the assessment of quality of life with regard to these prerequisites. The „Challenges and Potentials (CHAPO) Model of Quality of Life of the Very Old“ is a flexible framework including different approaches to quality of life for use in interdisciplinary studies with very old persons.

CHAPO was developed for a new study in Germany’s most populous State, North-Rhine Westphalia, to find out about how the very old currently live. This breakfast session provided the framework for an intensive discussion of the model. The meeting also served as a forum for the development of ideas for future international research projects and German-American research co-operations in this field.

Prof. Dr. Christiane Woopen

Professor for Ethics and Theory of Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne; Executive Director of ceres, University of Cologne, Germany; Chair of the European Group on Ethics of Science and New Technologies

Prof. Dr. Susanne Zank

Chair of Rehabilitative Gerontology at the University of Cologne; Director of the Center for Gerontological Special Education; Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences; Member of the Board of Directors of ceres; President of the German Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics

Prof. Dr. Ursula M. Staudinger

Robert N. Butler Professor, Sociomedical Sciences, Professor of Psychology, Columbia University Founding Director, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center